Elevators perform work by raising and lowering mass between floors of buildings. Some movement of the elevator requires energy to be input to the system to achieve the movement of the mass. Other movement of the elevator involves providing a controlled descent of mass.
According to on embodiment, an energy storage system is provided including: an elevator; an elevator motor; a power system coupled to the elevator motor. The power system including at least one capacitor operable to store energy received form the elevator motor and to supply stored energy to the elevator motor; and at least one flywheel operable to store energy received from the elevator motor and to supply stored energy to the elevator motor.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating an elevator is provided including: providing a power system coupled to an elevator motor operable to move an elevator having an elevator car and elevator doors; the power system including at least one capacitor and at least one flywheel; and operating the at least one capacitor and the flywheel to store energy received from the elevator motor and to supply stored energy to the elevator motor.